When my husband and I are traveling together and we get behind someone who turns without using a blinker, my husband usually comments that they must have purchased the model without the "turn signals" option. This is silly of course, but in reality when you purchase a car, your goal, I imagine, is to buy something that is drivable and will get you from point A to point B safely. You shop for a complete car, not just an engine or four tires. There may be options available, but they are usually only to upgrade your comfort level not to ensure that the car will actually run. If we look at this illustration in regards to our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, how does it compare? When you accepted Him into your life, did you accept the whole deal or just the parts that you wanted?
The dictionary has multiple definitions for each of these words but I will give you the first ones that were listed: part; portion or segment of a whole, an essential, separable element, whole; healthy, not diseased or injured, not broken, intact, containing all the parts, complete. As I read these definitions, I hadn't even considered the first one for whole: healthy, not diseased. So, as we look at these descriptions, do images come to your mind about your relationship with the Lord? If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, then you have an essential part of the equation, but until you make Him your LORD, you don't have the complete and whole package. The definition of whole, being healthy and not diseased makes this picture even better when we think about Jesus causing us to be spiritually healthy.
Is Jesus part of your life or is He your whole life? Your actions and behaviors may help you to determine which is true for you. Do you take His Word to heart and not just pick out what you feel applies to you? Do you seek God with all of your heart and soul and include Him in every aspect of your daily life? Maybe you realize that God is first, others are second and you come after that in God's economy. Are you a reflection of mercy and grace to others and even when you sin, you take responsibility and ask for forgiveness? If Jesus is your life, you feel Him with you and you desire to be saturated with Him and His Word and to fellowship among others who feel the same. But, maybe you do what you need to do to be a "good" Christian in the eyes of others, yet in private you are living for yourself? Do you tell people that you pray and go to church yet you party hard and live life for yourself first and others second? Do you pick parts of the Bible that you agree with but throw out the portions that you don't? Are you critical and find things to complain and grumble about on a regular basis? These images describe a person who really is committed to themselves first and allow Jesus to fit in somewhere down the line, when it works for them.
God doesn't want to be chauffeured; going where you want, when you want and in your timing. He desires that we leave the driving to Him and just relax as He guides us down the right roads. But if He is only a part of our lives, we will never hand Him the keys and trust in Him completely. The cost of a "part-time" Jesus is the less than perfect life He has chosen for us and missed opportunities to be used by Him. The abundant life that is promised in His Word is the joy of knowing that we are complete in Him; healthy, not diseased nor broken (spiritually speaking). Amen?
Read Romans 6:1-14 and Psalm 37:3-8
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